I was listening to one of Osho's talks and he said something that immediately struck me. He was talking about liberation and said:

"Log sochte hain mukti ka matlab hai main ki mukti. Mukti main ki nahi, main se hoti hai."

Such a powerful, deep, and true statement.

Whatever we do in our sadhana, there is almost always a feeling of "I", "Main", or "Karta". It is the same "I" that wants to be liberated, and it becomes the biggest hurdle.

Not that I am completely free of this mind-made "I", but I could immediately sense the truthfulness of this statement.

Have you noticed that in those rare moments of peace and restfulness – whether sitting by a river, playing with your children, or simply enjoying a beautiful morning, there is no strong feeling of "I" or "Karta"? I am sure most of us have experienced this at times. But very soon, this "I" takes over again and starts chasing, achieving, understanding, or interpreting something whether it is money, power, prestige, or even enlightenment.

Ramana Maharshi and Eckhart Tolle explain this in a different yet very interesting way. They use the analogy of a policeman trying to catch a thief, while the policeman himself is the thief. Naturally, the thief is never caught.

I can clearly see it in my own journey. Whenever this "I" that is constantly chasing, achieving, analysing, and interpreting subsides, there is a natural silence and peace.

This whole structure, this vicious circle, is seen only through seeing – not through effort, not through analysis, and not through understanding.

Of course, this is just another sutra without any meaning if we merely believe it and do not see its truth for ourselves. But then how do we see it? And who is it that wants to see it? Can you notice the vicious circle?

The question for a sadhak remains: What can one do?

First, simply keep this insight with yourself and continue observing your mind. It will be seen when it is seen. There is no need to agree or disagree. It becomes true only when you see it. Otherwise, it remains just another statement without any real meaning or transformation.

Second, as suggested by Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ramana Maharshi, bring your attention to the feeling of "I" without judgement or preconceived notions. In that awareness, the distinction between the mind-made "I" and the deeper I, which is awareness itself, gradually unfolds.

Ever since I heard this statement, I have not been able to stop appreciating its depth:

"Main ki mukti nahi hoti. Main se mukti hoti hai."

I wish all of us would realize the truth of it and live a sane, peaceful, and joyful life.

Who is wishing this for whom? :)

A reflection by Raman Mittal on Osho's profound insight: "Mukti main ki nahi, main se hoti hai."

Main ki Nahi, Main Se Mukti | Reflections on Ego, Awareness & Liberation

Explore the nature of ego, awareness, self-inquiry, and inner freedom through the teachings of Osho, Ramana Maharshi, Eckhart Tolle, and Nisargadatta Maharaj

Main ki Nahi, Main se Mukti

Are You Living in a Story of Your Own Mind?

Spoiler alert: I am going to talk about the movie Shutter Island and reveal the suspense.

I recently watched Shutter Island, a psychological thriller by Martin Scorsese.

In the film, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives at a remote mental hospital on an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of a patient. As he digs deeper, strange clues and unsettling experiences make him question what is real.

Towards the end, it is revealed that Teddy himself is a mental patient. He has created a story in his mind that he is a cop, investigating a crime that does not exist. It is all a construction of his own mind, yet he completely believes in it.

The protagonist creates a story in his head that he is somebody else and fully identifies with it. We call such people insane or mad.

But do we not keep creating stories in our head all the time and completely believe in them?

Please do not just believe this. Just observe your mind, and you will notice that it keeps creating uncountable stories, and we take those stories to be the only reality. Stories like:

<img src="https://d3bspmhdf56msv.cloudfront.net/content/may-raman-nl_1778688416553_1fa66be2.jpg?cb=1778688416628" alt="A lone figure standing in a foggy landscape, symbolizing confusion between reality and illusion, inspired by a psychological thriller theme." style="width:100%;border-radius:10px;" />

You will have all the arguments and reasons to support these stories. They feel real, logical, and justified. That is why it becomes so difficult to see through them.

There is no way to come out of the illusion unless you see the illusion as an illusion. How do we do that? By investigating our beliefs, opinions, philosophies, and ideologies against simple facts or reality. Is it true that nobody loves you? Is it a fact that you are unlucky? A fact is a fact. You cannot argue with it. The Earth revolves around the Sun. My height is 5 feet 3 inches. Dogs bark. These are facts, not opinions or interpretations.

When you put your stories against facts, something shifts. The grip of the story starts loosening. You begin to see that what felt like reality was just a mental construction.

You can only come out of illusion by seeing it as illusion. There is no other way. And if you now believe what is being said here without actually seeing it for yourself, it simply becomes another story.

In the same way, many of our ideas about God, meditation, love, even about our children - are they based on direct knowing, or are they also stories that we have heard, adopted, and started believing?

A parent may think, "My child should behave in a certain way." But is that a fact or just an idea? We may think, "Meditation should make me peaceful." Is that a fact or an expectation created by the mind? We may say, "This is what God is." But do we actually know, or are we repeating something we have heard? And then we defend these ideas, argue about them, and build identities around them as if they are absolute.

The real question is not what is true, but what have I assumed to be true without actually seeing it?

If we can bring a little honesty and observation here, we may start seeing the difference between fact and story. And in that very seeing, something relaxes. Something shifts.

We constantly create stories in our mind and mistake them for reality. Learn how to distinguish fact from mental narratives and break free from illusion.

Fact vs Story: How the Mind Creates Illusions We Believe

This blog explores how seeing the difference between fact and story can dissolve illusion.

We recently concluded our course "From Doing to Being." We had initially thought of keeping it light and simple. But as the sessions unfolded, we found ourselves exploring something much deeper.

What was truly heartening was that many participants were able to move (even if briefly) from the dimension of doing to the dimension of being.

Most of us relate to meditation as something we do. We sit for a certain amount of time, follow a technique, focus on the breath, chant a mantra, or observe our thoughts.

And while these practices are helpful, they can sometimes keep us confined within the dimension of doing.

We are doing meditation. But meditation, in its essence, is not about doing. It is about getting in touch with our beingness. This beingness is not something we create. It is already here.

It is the simple awareness in which everything is happening — thoughts, emotions, sensations, and the world around us.

When we become aware of this awareness, there is a natural sense of peace and completeness. Not because something new has been achieved but because we have come in touch with what was always present.

Many times, we (and even teachers) tend to focus a lot on techniques.

<div style="display:flex;border-radius:10px;overflow:hidden;margin:20px 0;background:#E8E0F0;"><div style="flex:1;padding:18px 16px;text-align:center;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6;font-weight:bold;">Which technique to use.</div><div style="flex:1;padding:18px 16px;text-align:center;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6;font-weight:bold;border-left:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.08);border-right:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.08);">How long to practice.</div><div style="flex:1;padding:18px 16px;text-align:center;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6;font-weight:bold;">How to improve.</div></div>

And while setting aside some time in the day for meditation can be very supportive, perhaps what matters more is something subtler.

Not just doing meditation… but being in meditation.

<img src="https://d3bspmhdf56msv.cloudfront.net/content/april-raman-nl_1778687924912_21dc6847.jpg?cb=1778687925018" alt="minimal visual of a person sitting quietly in stillness" style="width:100%;border-radius:10px;" />

A quiet knowing in the background. A gentle awareness that is not trying to change what is happening, but simply seeing it.

Formal practice has its place. It can help us slow down, become more sensitive, and taste this dimension of being. But meditation is not limited to a certain time or posture. It is not confined to those few minutes when we close our eyes. It is available at every moment.

Meditation is not something we do for 20 or 30 or 60 minutes in a day. It is a way of being — that can flow through the entire day. Sometimes it is there. Sometimes it is not.

And that’s okay.

Even noticing that it is not there… is also the awareness towards inattention.

Let me invite you to take a moment and notice: In this moment, is there an awareness of what is happening? Can you sense your aliveness — not as a thought in the mind, but as a living reality?

I sincerely hope that you may remain in touch with your being.

Explore the deeper dimension of meditation beyond techniques and practice. Learn how shifting from doing to being can bring natural awareness, peace, and presence into everyday life

From Doing to Being: Understanding the True Essence of Meditation

Meditation is not just something we do. It is a shift from doing to being.

From Doing to Being in Meditation

It Takes Time to Realize There Is No Time

It takes "time" to realize that there is no "time."

I first heard this from Eckhart Tolle a few years ago, and it struck me deeply. Something in me instantly recognized what he was pointing toward.

Does physical time exist? Of course it does. If we have to visit a doctor, attend a meeting, catch a flight, or plan a holiday, time matters. The Earth rotates, day turns into night, seasons change. Let’s call this physical time.

Does psychological time exist? It exists only in the mind as memory and imagination (basically as thoughts).

Physical time is necessary for practical living. But is psychological time necessary? I will leave that for you to reflect upon.

While physical time helps us function in the world, we mostly live in psychological time — revisiting past experiences that now feel like a distant dream, or projecting ourselves into futures that may or may not arrive. Our sense of self becomes tied to outcomes, expectations, and imagined scenarios.

When I say, "One day I will become peaceful… successful… content… happy," I am living in the dimension of psychological time. In that movement toward a future ideal, I miss the is-ness of the present moment — the only place where life is actually unfolding. The moment may be uncomfortable, even challenging, yet it rarely contains suffering in itself. In this constant state of becoming, I miss the life that is here now and remain separated from the true source of happiness — my own beingness, my I-am-ness.

Let me ask you something to reflect on deeply:

Kya iss kshan mein koi problem hai? (Is there a problem in this very moment?) If the answer is no, test it again. If the answer is yes, test it again.

More often than not, what appears as a problem belongs either to the past (which is gone) or to an imagined future (which has not arrived).

I have been down with a viral infection for the past few days and haven’t felt my best. But when I looked closely, there was no "problem" — just fatigue, some pain here and there, and low energy. The mind wanted to convert sensations into suffering by adding resistance and story.

This is what we often do. A Zen story illustrates this beautifully:

<Image width={817} height={450} class="imageStyle" src="https://d3bspmhdf56msv.cloudfront.net/content/reflections_march_updated_1772534426376_734f31ff-copy_1782737326283_be9bcc81.png?cb=1782737326319" alt="a monk carrying a woman across mud while another monk later questions it" priority={true}>

The body crossed the mud in a moment. The mind carried the story for hours.

Most of our suffering is like that.

We remain occupied with the past and future. Plans, stories, and imagined scenarios feel completely real and urgent, yet they quietly pull us away from the only place peace can be found — this moment.

When I align with what is — even if it is unpleasant — allow it to be, and bring my attention to the present moment, I reconnect with the source of peace. But when I seek peace in some future event, I remain separated from it.

Sometimes it takes years, even decades, for this to become clear. But when it is truly seen — not merely understood intellectually — it feels profoundly simple and accessible.

Perhaps we could paraphrase:

It takes physical time to realize that there is no psychological time.

Discover the difference between physical and psychological time, and how living in past memories and future expectations creates unnecessary suffering. Learn how presence reconnects you to peace.

Physical vs Psychological Time: Why Peace Exists Only in the Present Moment

We live between past memories and imagined futures, rarely noticing the present moment where life actually unfolds.

What Krishna Teaches vs What We Seek in His Name

I recently visited Vrindavan with a few relatives after a long time. It was a short day trip, and we truly did what one might call "temple hopping." That visit left me with several observations, questions, and reflections.

In one of the temples, the guide took us to a priest who very skilfully persuaded us to donate money. At the risk of sounding offensive, I felt his pitch was more polished/persuasive than many sales conversations I've seen in the corporate world.

What was he selling? He was selling fear and the promise of fulfilment of desires.

The pitch was simple: donate, and your wishes will be fulfilled. To strengthen his case, he even shared a few "success stories" including one about a family from Hyderabad (one of my relatives happened to be from Hyderabad).

This made me pause and reflect.

Whom should one believe — Krishna, who explicitly teaches Nishkaam Karma (action without desire for results) in the Bhagavad Gita, or someone asking for donations in Krishna's name for the fulfilment of desires? Isn't this a direct contradiction of what Krishna teaches?

Later, the guide took us to a tree and said this is the spot where Bhagwan Krishna played with Radha Rani. Once again, we were asked to remember Radha and Krishna and pray for whatever wish we desired. I chose to simply look at the tree, its grandeur, beauty, and stillness. It stood there, as it may have for centuries, asking for nothing, carrying no expectation, and offering no promise of fulfilment.

Then we visited the main Banke Bihari temple. People were pushing, shoving, and struggling to get a glimpse of Bihari ji. I wondered whether Krishna sitting in a temple in Vrindavan has more power/impact/presence than the Krishna idol in the small temple in my neighbourhood, or even the one at my home? Why this desperation for a "better view" of Krishna's murti?

Does Krishna not say that there is nothing in this world that is not made of Him?

Even if we set aside the Bhagavad Gita, which teaches action without attachment to results, the Bhagavatam—where Krishna's stories originate—clearly points toward the dropping of ego and desire. It speaks of surrender to Krishna.

Seeking a better glimpse of Krishna's idol in order to get what we want is not surrender. Surrender means: "Tera tujhko arpan, kya laage mera."

It led me to question whether we have overlooked the essence of Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita, reducing Krishna to a tool for fulfilling our desires or a hope for some future relief. Are we truly listening to His teaching, or merely seeking fulfilment for the ego and mind?

This may hurt some feelings. If it does, I invite you to honestly investigate whether it challenges your ideologies or blind faith (which are nothing but creations of the mind) or whether it threatens the comfort of holding on to hopes and desires. Because clinging to belief is easy. It feels safe. We don't really have to do anything — just visit Krishna or Shiva once in a while and assume they will take care of our suffering.

Perhaps Krishna is not meant to serve the ego. Perhaps He is meant to dissolve it—through nishkaam karma, surrender, and living fully in this moment, without asking for anything in return.

A visit to Vrindavan raises uncomfortable questions — are we truly listening to Krishna's teaching of Nishkaam Karma, or merely seeking fulfillment?

Why True Meditation Begins When Effort Ends

We completed our first 2-day retreat in Delhi. It was physically tiring for everyone, including me. I wasn’t sure if a 2-day non-residential retreat would really have an impact, but I was pleasantly surprised. So many people were able to connect with their deeper self and experience the simple "is-ness" of the present moment — beyond concepts, opinions, and the stories of past and future.

For most of us, we believe that our thoughts are who we are. There is almost no separation between ‘me’ and my thinking. So even a small moment of seeing thoughts as separate from ourselves — even if it doesn’t last long — is a very big step in loosening this lifelong identification.

People often ask how we can realize this. The answer is actually simple — just by seeing it. We spend most of our life inside our mind. With a little neutral and honest observation, it becomes very clear.

To me, this is the heart of Vipassana — "seeing clearly." This same neutral and unbiased observation is what we call Sakshi-bhav, the state of being a witness.

As we discussed last time, when we stop identifying with our thoughts, we naturally rest in the stillness and peace that is already within us. That is meditation.

Why does meditation feel difficult? Because we make it complicated and try to "achieve" it. Our egoic mind loves achievements. But meditation is simply stepping back from the thinking mind and being in the present moment. That’s all. Yet the mind turns it into a race, a goal, a long process that needs years of sadhana — and in doing so, we miss the real essence of meditation.

A small Zen story to summarize this:

<Image width={817} height={450} class="imageStyle" src="https://d3bspmhdf56msv.cloudfront.net/content/raman-blog-dec25_1778688204235_afb2f6d3.png?cb=1778688204313" alt="meditation comic" priority={true}>

Meditation is exactly this — the moment we stop trying, peace naturally appears. We have become so conditioned to trying, becoming, and achieving that we have forgotten the dimension of being — the source of ease, comfort, rest, and peace.

Have you ever wondered why we feel less worried and anxious on weekends or holidays? What really changes? Something for you to ponder. :)

I invite you to sit for a few minutes while doing nothing — just enjoying the is-ness of the moment, enjoying the simple gift of life.
May you find moments of presence, peace, and your true self.

We are so busy trying and achieving that we forget the dimension of simply being.

You Are Not Your Thoughts: Rediscovering the Essence of Meditation

A few months back, we decided that I will start sharing a monthly letter with all users of Idanim. I’ve been missing it since I wasn’t sure what to share, or whether it would truly add value for our users.
First and foremost, I always feel some discomfort in calling myself a spiritual teacher. I prefer to think of myself as a student, practitioner, and seeker of peace, joy, and my true self.There are times when I get identified with my role as a teacher. My sadhana is to continuously disidentify from this role and from the many other roles I take up.
When I started thinking about what to share in this first letter, it felt appropriate to speak about something many users ask: what is meditation and why meditate?

Before we talk about what meditation is, let’s understand what causes pain and suffering. 
Whenever we derive our sense of self from something, that very thing becomes the source of our pain. That "something" could be a physical possession like our body, car, land, or something non-physical like an opinion, ideology, achievement, failure, past, future, idea about what is right and wrong. For example, I get too attached to a certain opinion or idea or concept like:
<Image width={817} height={450} class="imageStyle" src="https://d3bspmhdf56msv.cloudfront.net/content/raman-blog-nov25_1778688162188_83a40d21.jpg?cb=1778688162279" alt="Meditation Posture - Quarter Lotus" priority={true}>
I start believing these thoughts to be absolutely true, and this causes pain. Why? Because if I drive my sense of self from something i.e. if my peace is dependent on something external then there are high chances (at least 50%) that what I want may not come true. Even if it does, I will find some other identification and it becomes a never ending loop.
Meditation in essence is realizing that I am not my thoughts, which means, I am not my mind. When what is unreal is seen as unreal, the real reveals itself naturally. In some sense, it’s quite simple, though not always easy.
"Only this realization, which comes from disidentification, brings peace beyond our likes and dislikes, wanting and resisting. This is what it means to wake up, to be free, to be present."
The present moment is the doorway to this realization, to an infinite and real me that is beyond words / concepts / mental images.
This is meditation. Different teachers use different words to explain it but in essence, only this is meditation. Everything else taught, preached or practiced is just more identification with certain ideas, practices and techniques. Is it my idea/identification with an idea of what meditation is?
I hope this gives you a deeper perspective about meditation and you can now approach it with more openness, respect, patience, curiosity and sincerity.
May you truly find yourself and peace within.

Learn why we suffer when we mistake our thoughts for identity, and how meditation sets us free.

Dec'25 Edition: You Are Not Your Thoughts: Rediscovering the Essence of Meditation